Raintight enclosure having particular cover mounting means

ABSTRACT

The enclosure comprises a rear wall, a pair of opposite side walls, a bottom wall, a flanged cap providing a top wall, and a front cover having side flanges pivotally connected respectively to the side walls at their upper front portions by removable spring-type fasteners.

United States Patent 1 Rys 3,768,690 Oct. 30, 1973 RAINTIGHT ENCLOSURE HAVING 3,556,436 1/1971 Roelandt...............................220/38 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS,

PARTICULAR COVER MOUNTING MEANS [75] Inventor: Tadeusz J. Rys, Monroe, Ohio Assignee: Square D Company, Park Ridge, Ill.

Nov. 1, 1971 Appl. No.: 194,349

Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance AztorneyHarold J. Rathbun [22] Filed:

top wall, and a front cover having side flanges pivotally connected respectively to the side walls at their smfiw UIF ll] 2 3 555 Ill.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS upper front portions by removable spring-type fasteners.

3,125,407 Kagan 220/38 3,422,988 La Franca............................. 220138 2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEDUCI 30 1973 3. 768,890

sum 2 or 2 FIG.8

RAINTIGI-IT ENCLOSURE HAVING PARTICULAR COVER MOUNTING MEANS This invention relates generally to raintight enclosures for electrical devices, and more particularly to mounting means for pivotable front covers thereof.

An object of the invention is to provide a mounting means for a pivotable front cover of a raintight enclosure whereby the cover is easily, but not accidentally, removable.

Another object is to provide an improved structure for bracing a pivotable front cover of a raintight enclosure in an open position.

Other objects will become apparent as the following specification proceeds, reference being made to accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the mounting means for the cover of the enclosure of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 10;

FIGS. 3-5 are fragmentary sectional views similar to FIG. 2 but successively showing the steps taken in bracing the cover in an open position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of a spring-type fastener forming a part of the mounting means for the cover of the enclosure of FIG. 10; i

FIG. 8 is an enlarged end view of the fastener of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the fastener of FIGS. 7 and 8 in a contracted position for mounting on or removal from a side wall of the enclosure of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 10 is a reduced perspective view of a raintight enclosure constructed in accordance with the invention and shown as embodied in a safety switch, a portion of a front cover being broken away and an open position of the cover being indicated by broken lines.

With reference to the drawings, FIG. 10 shows an enclosure constructed in accordance with the invention and including an open-front box 21 and a cover 22.

The box 21 includes a pair of opposite side walls 21a and 21b and a rear wall 210 preferably formed from one piece of steel. A flanged bottom piece is welded to the inside of the walls 21a, 21b and 210 to provide a bottom wall 21d, and a flanged top cap is welded to the outside of the walls 21a, 21b and 210 to provide a top wall 21c.

The cover 22 is provided with a pair of side flanges 22a and 22b disposed outwardly of the side walls 21a and 21b of the box 21, and with a bottom flange 22c disposed below the bottom wall 21d when the cover is closed. The top cap includes a pair of relatively large side flanges 21f and 21g which extend downwardly in covering relationship to the mounting means, hereinafter described, for the cover 22.

In order to provide room for the cover flanges 22a and 22b at the top of the box 21, front and upper edge portions of the top cap flanges 21f and 213 are outwardly offset respectively away from the box side walls 21a and 21b, as shown most clearly for the flange 21g in FIG. 1.

Because the cover flanges 22a and 22b are mounted respectively on the side walls 21a and 21b by identical means, only the mounting means for the flange 22b is fully shown and described. An upper portion of the flange 22b is provided with an elongated aperture or slot 220 (FIG. 1), and an upper front portion of the side wall 21b (FIG. 9) is provided with a pair of spaced apertures 21h, a generally square hole, and 21j, a round hole, for the reception of a spring-type fastener 24 best shown in FIGS. 7-9.

The fastener 24 is normally in the expanded condition indicated by solid lines in FIG. 8 and includes a hollow generally cylindrical portion 24a of incomplete circumference, the portion 24a being separated along longitudinal elements through a small arc and branching into a pair of generally radial leg portions 24b and 24e adjacent a longitudinal end. The leg portions 24b and 24c are provided respectively with a pair of anchoring tang portions 24d and 24e which are outwardly bent away from each other. The other longitudinal end portion of the cylindrical portion 24a not having the leg portions 24b and 240 forms a mounting pin portion 24f.

With pliers such as shown in phantom in FIG. 9 and indicated by numeral 25, the leg portions 24b and 240 may be squeezed together to their positions indicated by broken lines in FIG. 8, to place the fastener 24 in a contracted condition. In the contracted condition of the fastener, the tangs 24d and 24e are passable through the hole 21h in the side wall 21b of the box 21 after the pivot pin portion 24f is first inserted through the hole 21j. The mounting pin portion 24f is also inserted through the slot 220 in the flange 22b of the cover 22 to pivotably mount the cover 22 on the box 21, as best shown in FIG. 6 wherein the slot 22c is not fully shown because of the bend of the section line 6-6 in FIG. 2. Relaxation of the fastener to its expanded condition then disposes the tangs 24d and 24e in anchoring relationship behind or on the outer side of the side wall 21b. The flange 21g of the top cap of the box 21 is provided with an outwardly bulged portion 21k as best shown in FIG. 6 to provide clearance for the mounting pin portion 24f of the fastener 24.

The flange 22a of the cover 22 is similarly mounted on the side wall 210 of the box 21 by another identical fastener 24, and to remove the cover 22, the fasteners 24 are removed by first contracting them as with the pliers 25. The fasteners 24 are purposely made relatively stiff to render it difficult to remove them without a tool.

The top cap of the box 21 is provided with a front flange 21m inside of which the upper portion of the cover 22 fits when the cover is in closed position, to provide raintightness. The side walls 21a and 21b are notched at their upper front corners as shown in FIGS. 1-5 for the side wall 21b, the shape of the notches being such that depending interlock projections, such as a projection 2111 on the side wall 21b, are provided for cooperation respectively with a pair of holes in an upper edge portion of the cover 22 respectively adjacent the flanges 22a and 22b such as a hole 22d (FIG. 1) adjacent the flange 22b.

FIGS. 2-5 illustrate the steps in moving the cover 22 from a closed to a braced-open position. The cover 22 is first pivoted to the position of FIG. 3, then pushed rearwardly to the position of FIG. 4 as the slotted flanges 22a and 22b move along the pivot pin portions 24f of the fasteners 24, and then pivoted downwardly through a small arc to the position of FIG. 5 to dispose the interlock projections such as the projection 21n in the holes such as the hole 22d. The cover cannot then 3 be pulled back out without first pivoting it back upwardly to the position of FIG. 4.

Various modifications may be made in the structure shown and described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An enclosure comprising an open-front box having a pair of opposite side walls, each of the side walls having a pair of spaced apertures in an upper front portion thereof, a cover having a pair of opposite side flanges spaced apart in straddling relationship to the side walls of the box, each of the side flanges of the cover having an aperture in an upper portion thereof aligned with one of the apertures in the respective side wall of the box, and a pair of contractible-expansiblespring-type fasteners each having a hollow generally cylindrical portion of incomplete circumference, branching adjacent a longitudinal end into a pair of generally radially extending normally spaced apart leg portions each having an anchoring tang portion outwardly bent away from the other leg portion, and providing a mounting pin portion adjacent an opposite longitudinal end, the leg portions of each fastener being disposed on the inner side of a respective one of the side walls of the box, the mounting pin portion of each fastener extending through the one aperture in the respective side wall of the box and through the aligned aperture in a respective one of the side flanges of the cover, and the outwardly bent anchoring tang portions of each fastener extending through the other aperture in the respective side wall of the box and having bent portions disposed on the outer side of the respective side wall of the box normally in overlapping relationship with portions of the respective side wall defining the other aperture, the tang portions being passable through the other aperture upon the squeezing of the leg portions together.

2. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the side walls of the box is notched at an upper front corner to provide a depending interlock projection, the apertures in the side flanges of the cover are elongated, and an upper edge portion of the cover is provided with a pair of holes respectively adjacent the side flanges for cooperation with the interlock projections in locking the cover in an open position. 

1. An enclosure comprising an open-front box having a pair of opposite side walls, each of the side walls having a pair of spaced apertures in an upper front portion thereof, a cover having a pair of opposite side flanges spaced apart in straddling relationship to the side walls of the box, each of the side flanges of the cover having an aperture in an upper portion thereof aligned with one of the apertures in the respective side wall of the box, and a pair of contractible-expansible springtype fasteners each having a hollow generally cylindrical portion of incomplete circumference, branching adjacent a longitudinal end into a pair of generally radially extending normally spaced apart leg portions each having an anchoring tang portion outwardly bent away from the other leg portion, and providing a mounting pin portion adjacent an opposite longitudinal end, the leg portions of each fastener being disposed on the inner side of a respective one of the side walls of the box, the mounting pin portion of each fastener extending through the one aperture in the respective side wall of the box and through the aligned aperture in a respective one of the side flanges of the cover, and the outwardly bent anchoring tang portions of each fastener extending through the other aperture in the respective side wall of the box and having bent portions disposed on the outer side of the respective side wall of the box normally in overlapping relationship with portions of the respective side wall defining the other aperture, the tang portions being passable through the other aperture upon the squeezing of the leg portions together.
 2. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the side walls of the box is notched at an upper front corner to provide a depending interlock projection, the apertures in the side flanges of the cover are elongated, and an upper edge portion of the cover is provided with a pair of holes respectively adjacent the side flanges for cooperation with the interlock projections in locking the cover in an open position. 